More than a century after the sinking of the Titanic, another ocean search and rescue operation is taking place in the vicinity of the ship's wreckage.
A submersible carrying five people went missing Sunday during its mission to explore the remains of the Titanic, the wreckage of which is nearly 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
The sinking of the Titanic - along with the countless books, documentaries and movies that followed - generated a seemingly insatiable fascination. In recent years, the box office record-breaking 1997 film “Titanic” was rereleased in 3D; the "Titanic. The Exhibition" opened in New York; and a modern-day replica of the Titanic was slated to set sail along the ill-fated ship's path.
OceanGate Expeditions began offering tours of the ship's wreckage onboard a submersible called "Titan" for $250,000 per person, creating an underwater tourist attraction for the wealthy.
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"You can dive to the bottom of the ocean to explore the Titanic," it said on the OceanGate Expeditions' website. "Dive with us to see the world's most famous shipwreck with your own eyes."
As the ship continues to maintain its grip on the public imagination, here are 10 questions about the Titanic, with answers based on information from History and Britannica.
When was the Titanic built?
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Construction on the Titanic began in March 1909 amid rising competition between rival shipping lines White Star and Cunard. The latter had released two ships that set speed records for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. White Star chairman J. Bruce Ismay met with William J. Pirrie, chairman of Belfast shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff, and agreed to build three luxury vessels that, at 882 feet in length, were set to become the largest of their time.
One of those vessels was the Titanic. Designed by Thomas Andrews, the ship’s hull was completed and launched on May 31, 1911. In June of 1911, the Titanic's sister-ship Olympic - which had been constructed alongside the Titanic - set sail on its maiden voyage. Over the next year, work continued on the Titanic's decks and interiors.
The Titanic's maiden voyage began on April 10, 1912.
Where did the Titanic's journey begin?
The Titanic departed from Southampton, England. It was captained by Edward J. Smith. In an ominous sign while departing the dock in Southampton, the Titanic nearly collided with the America Line’s S.S. New York.
The ship went on to make stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland (now Cobh) before leaving for New York with approximately 2,200 people on board, including roughly 1,300 passengers.
How much did it cost to travel on the Titanic in 1912? How much did a ticket on the Titanic cost in today’s money?
The cost of a third-class ticket aboard the Titanic cost 7 pounds, which translated to $35 at the time, according to Cruise Hive. Second-class tickets were 12 pounds, or $60. First-class berths started at 30 pounds, or $150. Those who purchased a first-class suite paid 105,000 pounds, or over $130,000.
By today's prices, first-class berths would cost $4,591, second-class tickets would be $1,834, and third-class tickets would be $1,071.
Why did the Titanic sink?
The Titanic's starboard side struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912 -- opening gashes in the hull of the ship below the waterline.
The Titanic was billed as a "practically unsinkable" ship because it featured watertight bulkhead compartments with watertight doors that could be quickly opened or closed by the bridge individually or simultaneously if needed. But the ship had a design flaw.
The bulkheads, separated by walls only a few feet above the water line, were not designed to withstand the ship listing or pitching forward. When the ship did so, the walls were not tall enough to prevent water from spilling over the top and into the neighboring compartment, which contributed to the sinking of the ship.
Where did the Titanic sink?
The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The wreckage is 12,500 feet, or almost 2.5 miles, below the surface of the ocean.
The remains are about 13 nautical miles from the position given in the ship's distress signals.
How far is the Titanic from the U.S.?
The Titanic wreckage is 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Mass.
How many people died on the Titanic?
More than 1,500 people died during the sinking of the Titanic. Of the more than 2,200 on board, 705 survivors were rescued from lifeboats by the ship Carpathia, which arrived an hour after the Titanic sank.
The Titanic had 16 lifeboats designed to hold 65 people, and four Engelhardt “collapsibles.” Even if filled to capacity, the lifeboats could hold 1,178 people -- well below the Titanic's 3,000-plus capacity.
When was the Titanic wreckage found?
The wreckage of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 after decades of expeditions attempted to find the ship. American oceanographer Robert Ballard, who worked with the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea, is credited with locating the wreckage.
The search for the Titanic was used as a means to test the Argo, a submersible with a remote-controlled camera capable of transmitting live images from the ocean floor to a monitor aboard the research ship "Knorr" at the surface.
On Sept. 1, 1985, the Argo captured the first underwater images of the Titanic, showing the ship’s boilers.
Are any survivors from the Titanic still alive?
The last living survivor of the Titanic died in 2009. Millvina Dean, who was 2 months old when aboard the ship, died at 97 in Southampton.
Dean's family was on board the Titanic to depart Southampton and start a new life in the United States. Her two-year-old brother Bertram and her mother Georgette also survived thanks to what Dean said was the quick action of her father, who died in the tragedy.
She said her father felt the ship hit the iceberg and quickly got the family out of their third-class quarters and towards a lifeboat.
"That's partly what saved us — because he was so quick," Dean told the British Broadcasting Corp. in 1998. "Some people thought the ship was unsinkable."
Can the Titanic be raised or preserved?
Because of the water depth, and the fragile state of the ship itself, the Titanic cannot be raised from the ocean floor for preservation.
The ship is succumbing to metal-eating bacteria called Halomonas, with sections subject to collapse or disintegration.
The Associated Press reported in 2021 that the Titanic could vanish in a matter of decades.
“The ocean is taking this thing, and we need to document it before it all disappears or becomes unrecognizable,” Stockton Rush, president of OceanGate Expeditions, said at the time.
Rush is one of five passengers on board the submersible that went missing during a voyage to explore the Titanic's wreckage.
